(May 27, 2014,
Montclair, CA) Roughly 99.99% of fathers of nine-year-old girls never
hear the words, “daddy, I want to race a boat.” Montclair, California’s
Andy Jones is one of the .01% - okay, more than likely .00001% - of the fathers
who have heard that and he is going to do something about it. He and his
twin brother Casey are going to help Andy’s daughter, Kassidy, realize her
dreams and she will take her first laps in a boat in the APBA sanctioned event
north of Sacramento at Lake Minden this weekend.”

While Andy Jones did not expect his daughter to say it, it absolutely was no
shocker to him when she did. After all, she has spent more than half of
her life growing up at Perris Auto Speedway where her dad and his brother, the
Amsoil Oil Twins, have been track sponsors for years. However, the racing
seed was firmly planted a few years ago when she saw a popular Disney movie.

“She was always
into racing and she was growing up when the movie “Cars” came out,” Jones
said. “She has driven my golf cart and has driven at K1. I am not worried
about it and my wife Ali is fine with it, too. At this point, she will
probably not be in a race. She will just be out getting some time on the
water. She should get enough time on the water.
Each day she will to get in three laps or so. Two sessions that
should be around 10-monutes each. If by chance there is enough boats that
show up eligible for a junior class (9-16-years-old), she may end up in a heat
race. We are hoping to have enough boats for sure for a junior class
later in the summer at Long Beach.”

9-year-old
Kassidy Jones of Montclair modeling the safety equipment she will be wearing
when she hits the water for the first time at Lake Minden this weekend.

The schooling in
the boat has already begun. A couple of weeks ago they took Kassidy to a
pool and put here in the boat with her safety gear on so she could get a feel
of what it will be like rather than throw everything new at her at once at Lake
Minden.

“We wanted her to
understand what it feels like with her safety gear on, what it feels like to be
in the cockpit, where to sit in the boat and where the throttle is,” Jones
said. “So, we got her in the boat in the pool at a friend’s house and got
her acquainted.”

The boat racing
dream came to light at last month’s National Street Rod Association Western
Regionals in Bakersfield. The brothers were there to set up and display
their Amsoil products. The home schooled4th grader told her dad about her
desire to race there while they were setting up for the show.

“She wanted to
ask her uncle right away and I explained to her that she had to wait for the
right time,” Jones stated. “At the end of setup she asked her uncle if
she could sit in the boat and while sitting in it she asked him if she could race
it. Sometimes kids say things and you do not know if they mean it or
not. She meant it so here we go.”

Aftergetting the go ahead
from her uncle, Andy gave his daughter a quick lesson in motorsports
marketing. If she wanted to race the boat, she was going to have to raise
some sponsorship money to pay some of the expenses. What happened next,
really caught her dad by surprise. Casey’s boat was the centerpiece of
the Amsoil booth and for the next two days, Kassidy would ask passerby’s if
they would like to sponsor her.A drawing she made of her racing the boat the night before
was inspiration for the sponsorship cards she sold.

“She stood by the
boat for two days straight and talked to people about helping her out with some
sponsorship,” Jones smiled. “She had 36 people get involved and her
sponsorships ranged from $5.00 to $20.00. She raised enough money to pay
for her entry fees at Minden and purchase some of the safety gear she needs.
That took real courage for a little girl“

The sponsorship proposal card Kassidy Jones designed to present to potential sponsors.

Kassidy Ready for Racing!

When Kassidy
takes her first laps it will be in the same Miss Amsoil #72c Class “A” Stock
Hydro that her Uncle Casey recently drove to victory at the Blue Water Casino
in Parker, Arizona. While she will be getting here first laps in J Stock
Hydro at Lake Minden, Uncle Casey will be skippering it as well in A Stock
Hydro as he seeks his second straight win.

Now even though
she wants to try boat racing, Kassidy still has other interests as well.
In addition to boat racing, she focuses on her studies, loves riding horses, is
active with the youth group at her church and loves spending time with the family.

For more
information or to order quality Amsoil Products from the Montclair, California
based Oil Twins, please visit their website at www.oiltwins.com
or give them a call at 888-OIL-TWINS.

Thursday, May 22, 2014

(May 22, 2014, Montclair, CA) Lots has happened since the last blog post.

We purchased a 170 Amp MIG/Flux Wire Welder (Chicago Electric Welding - Item#68885) from Harbor Freight. About the best $200 I have spent. Only draw back is there is only 4 temperature settings and it requires 220VAC which had to be wired up in the garage. We chose to purchase the 0.035" flux wire from Home Depot to get a better grade of flux wire then HF offers.

When the parts showed up the front axle was gusseted. Then both axles perches and shock mounts were laid out and tacked. After clarification from TT, we were welding!

Tips:
-The passenger side front axle perch needs to be trimmed inside and opened up to accommodate the slope from the third member.

-The shock mounts on both axles are identical in the new kits. The instructions shows the old style shock mounts which had two different styles.

-The 4° perch angle is to correct the caster of the axle and the are tipped forward which will lower the pinon.

-We used a smart phone app called GPS Status on a Droid Razor Maxx to check the angle and level of the perches before they were welded. The app is extremely accurate for pitch and roll.

-AMSOIL Synthetic Fifth-Wheel Grease was used to assemble the suspension instead of anti-seize compound. The grease is extremely tacky, wear disposable gloves and have whop towels handy!

-The bushings for the rear mount on the front springs were very challenging to press in without a press. A little trimming helped squeeze them in.

Front Axle Side Brace Tacked

Front Axle Gusset

Passenger (Right Side) Perch Tacked 4° Tilted Forward

Right Side Perch and Shock Mount Tacked

Front Axle Prior to Paint (Back Side)

Front Axle Prior to Paint (Front Side)

Front Axle After to Paint (Back Side)

Front Axle After to Paint (Front Side)

Missing Link Brackets, Springs and Front Axle Mounted

For more information or to order quality Trail Tough Products from the Medford, Oregon based company, please visit their website at www.trailtough.com or give them a call at 1-877-SUZUKIS (877-789-8547).

Be a part of the Oil Twins Suzuki Samurai joining AMSOIL – Oil Twins, Kumho Tires and Trail Tough Products. To promote your product or business and be exposed to tens of thousands of potential customers at race events, car shows, and expositions, please contact Andy Jones at 909-670-9328 or mailto:andy.jones@oiltwins.com.

Wednesday, May 14, 2014

(May 14, 2014, Montclair, CA) On Day 3 the focus was the rear axle housing. We had two housings to choose from. Both were graded on how much deviation the axle had from being true, the condition of third member bolt holes and overall condition. This was an important step because the current axle housing was damaged from an aftermarket traction bar that had failed on a previous trip.

This failure ripped the bolts for the third member out of the the axle housing damaging the threads. This was causing them to lose the ability to retain their proper torque. They were constantly getting loose from daily driving. Based on the experience, we only recommend traction bars as an absolute last resort. Deal with the core issues of improper perch height and weaken springs.

Anyway, we decided to use the axle obtained from Craigslist since hit had less issues than the one off the truck. The Axle was cleaned and wire brushed prior to a light coat of paint before the TT Axle Housing Gusset was tacked into place and the E-Brake cable mount relocated.

More to follow on Day 4..........

Rear Axle Cleaned and Ready for the Gusset to be Tacked.

Rear Axle After the Gusset was Installed.

For more information or to order quality Trail Tough Products from the Medford, Oregon based company, please visit their website at www.trailtough.com or give them a call at 1-877-SUZUKIS (877-789-8547).

Be a part of the Oil Twins Suzuki Samurai joining AMSOIL – Oil Twins, Kumho Tires and Trail Tough Products. To promote your product or business and be exposed to tens of thousands of potential customers at race events, car shows, and expositions, please contact Andy Jones at 909-670-9328 or mailto:andy.jones@oiltwins.com.

(May 14, 2014, Montclair, CA) On Day 2 after work, both sides has the shock and bump stops removed and ground down. The tool of the day was a reciprocating saw with a 12" blade and a hand grinder. It is amazing how string the factory welds were.

The new Trail Tough Products TT Towers will be welded to the frame. This took about two hours from start to finish.

More to follow on Day 3..........

Frame after shock tower and bump were cut off for the Epic Trek Suspension Kit

Shock tower and bump stop ground down.

For more information or to order quality Trail Tough Products from the Medford, Oregon based company, please visit their website at www.trailtough.com or give them a call at 1-877-SUZUKIS (877-789-8547).

Be a part of the Oil Twins Suzuki Samurai joining AMSOIL – Oil Twins, Kumho Tires and Trail Tough Products. To promote your product or business and be exposed to tens of thousands of potential customers at race events, car shows, and expositions, please contact Andy Jones at 909-670-9328 or mailto:andy.jones@oiltwins.com.

(May 14, 2014, Montclair, CA) The preparation for the Trail Tough "EPIC TREK" SPOA Suzuki Samurai Suspension started early on a Saturday morning. It took about four hours to take the 1987 Suzuki Samurai from a working vehicle to being supported on jack stands.

The axles were completely dissembled for service and inspection. They will need to have the perches and shock mounts welded on along with the optional TT Axle Housing Gussets.

The next step is continued in Day 2

Oil Twins - AMSOIL 1987 Suzuki Samurai (Pre-EPIC TREK)

Sami waiting for new legs from Trail Tough Products.

Old worked over springs and shackles. Bit of advice, just say no to long shackles.

For more information or to order quality Trail Tough Products from the Medford, Oregon based company, please visit their website at www.trailtough.com or give them a call at 1-877-SUZUKIS (877-789-8547).

Be a part of the Oil Twins Suzuki Samurai joining AMSOIL – Oil Twins, Kumho Tires and Trail Tough Products. To promote your product or business and be exposed to tens of thousands of potential customers at race events, car shows, and expositions, please contact Andy Jones at 909-670-9328 or mailto:andy.jones@oiltwins.com.

(May 13, 2014, Montclair, CA) The Oil Twins are excited to partner with Trail Tough Products to help promote their line of quality products in the SoCal market. The highly recognizable Oil Twin’s Suzuki Samurai will be used as a working show piece for Trail Tough both on and off the trail. The Samurai will be displayed proudly with Trail Tough Products on the hood at local tradeshows and events in addition to several trail runs in the local San Bernardino Mountains.

“We are looking forward to getting show off the performance of the Epic Trek suspension. Hands down it offers the best overall performance both on and off road. Brent really knows how these trucks work and what it takes to get them to handle properly,” said Andy Jones of the Oil Twins. “I have been a customer of Trail Tough since I purchased my Samurai. I have always enjoyed the customer support they provide and I know I will enjoy supporting them even more!”

For more information or to order quality Trail Tough Products from the Medford, Oregon based company, please visit their website at www.trailtough.com or give them a call at 1-877-SUZUKIS (877-789-8547).

Be a part of the Oil Twins Suzuki Samurai joining AMSOIL – Oil Twins, Kumho Tires and Trail Tough Products. To promote your product or business and be exposed to tens of thousands of potential customers at race events, car shows, and expositions, please contact Andy Jones at 909-670-9328 or mailto:andy.jones@oiltwins.com.

"There is still a lot of racing ahead before the 2014 season ends in October.", Jones said. "We are please with how we have performed so far and we have been working almost every day to get ready for the next race. We aren't sitting on our laurels", he added.

The next race will take place May 31st at Lake Minden. We will keep you posted.

For more information or to order quality Amsoil Products from the Montclair, California based Oil Twins, please visit their website at www.oiltwins.com or give them a call at 888-OIL-TWINS.

Be a part of Miss AMSOIL and Oil Twins Racing. To promote your product or business and be exposed to tens of thousands of potential customers at race events, car shows, and expositions, please contact Casey Jones at 909-821-5551 or mailto:casey.jones@oiltwins.com. Sponsorship packages are available at all levels.

We would like to thank all of those who make this racing endeavor possible.
“Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, my wife Ava, my brother & crew chief Andy Jones, AMSOIL - OilTwins.com, Lifeline Race Gear, Jennings Racing, Doidge Racing, Knufamily Racing, Chino Signs Plus, Perris Auto Speedway and SeaTow. Without their help, this would not be possible,”